With regard to the great amusement my family has provided the hospital and its staff, Jared, of course, has been at the center of it all. For those of you who haven't had the privilege of witnessing Jared on pain killers, we'll work on sneaking a video of it to post it sometime soon-- it's truly the best source of entertainment I've found. He often falls asleep while texting or talking to you, and then wakes up just to tell you, "That was a good conversation. Thanks for talking," having finished the conversation in his dream. Tonight, he's begun talking in strange Russian and Southern accents to occupy himself. Sometimes he's exhausted and just gives you what I've started calling "the death stare," when he doesn't blink but simply looks shocked to see you in his room. Other times, he's wired and ready "to party!" He called me Friday morning, after my Mom spent the night at the hospital with him just to let me know, "Melissa, Mom was a buzz-kill last night! I woke up at 2 ready to party and she told me to go back to bed, so I had to sit there in my bed and try to party alone when I couldn't move!" Needless to say, his spirits are high, praise be to God!
Wednesday was my birthday, so friends of mine, kindly, wanted to take me out to celebrate last night. Since Jared had been having a tough day on Saturday, throwing up often and starting the process of weaning himself off his pain meds, I decided to stay at the hospital with my siblings. It truly was one of the best birthday celebrations I've ever had! I crawled up into Jared's hospital bed with him, Abbey and Drew huddled in chairs close by the side, and the four of us had a beautiful conversation reflecting on how God has continually directed our lives toward himself. What a miracle it is to see that God has chosen to glorify himself by making his majesty known in our depraved states, our mistakes, our pain, and always through the many blessings we experience! Some of the memories upon which we reflected were difficult to share and process together. We certainly, as children in the Sylvester home, have pursued our own desires and sought to make much of ourselves more than our Lord on far too many occasions. It was incredible to dive into the reality of those times together last night. The pain and the suffering were so real. God's grace and the truth of his gospel were certainly proclaimed as we sat there together. Even now, we are facing other things, outside of the physical ream of Jared's cancer that force us to stand behind the lion of judah and cry softly for him to bare his teeth at the enemy and chase him away. These trials are tough; Satan definitely wants us down. Please be praying with us as my family fights to proclaim the truth to one another. Fighting sin patterns as a team can certainly take a lot out of you. It's not easy to look in on the way someone you hold so dearly idolizes creation instead of the creator, God, and thus has wrong beliefs about our Lord Jesus Christ and the power of his saving work on the cross. But we must, despite all cost, fight these battles together.
Looking through the spiritual to the physical ream in which we now sit, it's amazing to watch the process of Jared getting his strength back. This morning at church my friend Caitlin and I were teaching little Adam Ripley, our friends Meredith and Wes's 7 month old boy, to walk. I held his hands as he grinningly and gingerly took tiny little steps toward the encouraging Caitlin. We cheered for every step he took, congratulating his courage and commenting on his strength. I looked up at Caitlin at the end of Adam's short lived race toward her and told her, "I fee like I do this all the time now-- I continually cheer on people who are learning to walk!" We've all been so impressed with how well Jared's been relearning how to walk. His pain is still consistent at this point, but he's becoming less dependent on his medicine every day. His doctors, nurses, and PCAs have all been incredibly helpful. We even had a mini worship service in his hospital room tonight with one of the nurses on the floor and his PCA.
While things seem to be moving along smoothly at the hospital, Jared would love to be out of here and back at home. Please be in prayer for his swift recovery and ability to move around enough to make it home. And, our biggest prayer request at the moment is that God would bless us with a pathology report next week that shows 90% or more of the cancer as dead. This would mean that his body has responded well to chemo and give us great hope for the upcoming months of treatment.
We thank you again for your love, support, and prayers.
Thanks so much for the update. We're praying for all of you.
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